Monthly Archives: July 2014

Last Saturday, the Froo & Boo family went to the movies in the park. We met up with friends, ate from food trucks and sat on picnic blankets. There were oodles of outdoor activities, bean bag toss being a popular one. The hubs looked at the bean bag toss board and said, “I can make that.”

I raised an eyebrow. The hubs uses hockey tape to “fix” things. That is the extent of his aptitude for anything handy. His usual reaction is to find a barcode to scan–trying to find the best online deal.

“Are you sure? There are hinges on the legs!” (Not to mention dovetail joints, a smooth lacquered surface and a perfectly round cut-out hole.)

“Sure, why not?”, he says.

The next day, the hubs went to the Home Depot while Boo and I were napping. When I woke up, the hubs was putting the finishing touches of hockey tape to his bean bag toss board. He asked me to make some bean bags while Froo decorated the board with crayon drawings of Peppa Pig.
Froo & Boo adore Peppa Pig. The hubs thinks it’s because it’s exactly the kids’ lives in a cartoon.
I think the hubs makes an excellent Daddy Pig.
I used leftover charm squares (5″ pre-cut) from my Lotta Jansdotter Echo cushions to make quick bean bags. I filled them up with poly-pellets until they were 2/3 full, giving me enough room to machine stitch the opening shut. It’s still one of my favourite prints.
Ok, so I’ll admit, I laughed when I saw the bean bag toss board. The hubs traced the kids’ butterfly net to get a huge hole, used hockey tape around the edges and the legs do not hinge, but the kids were really excited–they LOVED it! I later found out that the board is called a cornhole. I think you could fit a dozen ears of corn through this one:
It’s actually a good thing that the hole is so big. Boo gets upset when the bean bag misses, so having a large target to hit increases the probability of the bean bag going in. Froo & Boo use both the bean bags and fabric juggling balls to play.

When I asked the kids to take photos, Froo was playing princess dress-up–wearing a tiara and my mom’s upcycled dress as her princess costume. It’s one of her favourite dresses.Boo didn’t want to be photographed–he was too busy playing with his Lego DUPLO. I managed to get one blurry photo. I wish there was an Auto-Boo-Mode on my camera. By the time I set up my camera to photograph him, he’s gone. I just have to blindly shoot away in a 2-second time frame. Boo is wearing his favourite shorts.
I’d like to think that I inspired the hubs to take on his first DIY project, but I’m not so sure about that. After I started working full-time, the hubs has been working extra hard to create balance within the family. If anything, I’m inspired by his confidence to simply make something. If it were my project, I would have researched different plans and materials, agonized over every detail and it would have taken roughly 6 months to completion.

He decided to make a bean bag toss board on Saturday, then completed it on Sunday afternoon. It’s not perfect, it’s completely laughable, but it’s a handmade project that makes our family happy. What is better than that?

Froo had a cute dress from Target with a piped hem. The finishing is horrendous, but I guess that’s the way it goes with store-bought clothing on the cheap. When I made Froo a skirt awhile back, I decided to write up a tutorial on how to add piping to a skirt hem, that is completely encased. I tend to put piping on just about everything, since it’s such a great way to add a pop of contrast and create dramatic lines.

I used the free Lazy Days Skirt pattern by Oliver + S because it is oh-so-simple (a 1-piece skirt!) and the hem is completely straight. If you are going to add piping to a skirt with a curved hem, you will need to modify the tutorial by creating a curved bottom hem (at Step 6).

Step 1
Cut your skirt pattern. For my almost 6-year old Froo, I cut a 17″ skirt. Cut another length of fabric 3″ wide. This will become the bottom hem.Step 2
Following the pattern instructions, sew up the skirt to make a tube. Line the edge of the piping to the front edge of the skirt. Using a zipper foot, sew the piping onto the skirt. Position your needle to sew as close to the cording as possible–I sew directly on top of the stitching on the piping. Start sewing 2″ from the back seam and finish sewing 2″ to the back seam. Leave a tail on each end that extends 1-2″ beyond the back seam.Step 3
To ensure you get a nice finish on your piping, follow the next set of instructions. Sophie, from the blog C’est la vie, has an excellent tutorial on adding piping with clear photos on finishing piping ends.Step 4
Pin or clip the piping into place. Line up the piping fold with the back seam. Finish sewing the piping to the edge of the skirt hem.Step 5
Sew the bottom hem into a tube with the same seam allowance as the skirt tube. Iron seams open. With right sides together, pin or clip the bottom hem to the skirt, sandwiching the piping in between. Match up the back seams.Step 6
Using the original stitching as a guide, sew 1/16″ (or super close) to the left side of the seam. This ensures that any thread that is sewn on the piping will not show through to the other side.Step 7
Fold and iron bottom hem 1″. Then iron entire bottom hem up so that the piping is at the bottom.Step 8
Replace the zipper foot with the regular foot and topstitch the hem in place. At this point, you will want to match your thread colour, since it will show on the front of the skirt.Step 9
Finish the waistband of the skirt. That’s pretty much it! Iron your skirt, or don’t (I didn’t!). It’s up to you, really. I’ve found that with piping and an additional bottom hem, there’s enough weight to the hem that it doesn’t wrinkle as much.
I guess I should have ironed. Oops.Step 10
Take photos of your model wearing the skirt, if she’s willing. I love that the piping on the hem is completely encased–you can see a peek of the inside of Froo’s skirt and it still looks great.
About the fabric: it’s definitely a favourite–both Froo & Boo love to point out different sea creatures (Boo is obsessed with the Octonauts) and it just feels happy. I pinned it a couple of years ago–it’s called Kelp Forest by Kokka, but I’m pretty sure it’s nowhere to be found on the Internet. Sorry to have kept the good stuff hidden, but I thought you’d like to know. I’m always so curious when I see awesome fabric on a sewing blog and the fabric is unidentified, but anyhoo…